Children’s Day: Masterminds Foundation empowers students with vital emotional intelligence, life skills
Lagos, May 27, 2026. A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), the Masterminds Community Foundation has organised an emotional intelligence development programme, to equip students with essential life skills for personal and social growth.
The initiative, which held in partnership with New Estate Baptist Secondary School, Surulere, is part of activities by the organisers to mark the 2026 edition of the annual Children’s Day celebration.
The Children’s Day is a globally recognised celebration dedicated to honoring youth, promoting children’s rights, and advocating for their welfare.
In Nigeria, this special day is observed annually on May 27th.
The programme by the Masterminds Foundation focused on instilling positive emotional habits that promote personal development, social awareness, discipline, and responsible decision-making among students in school and society.
In her address, the Founder of MasterMinds Community Foundation, Mrs Vivian Oghene, said that the present generation of children face growing emotional pressures from society, peers, and digital media exposure.
She described emotional intelligence as a critical life skill for leadership, mental well-being, confidence building, conflict resolution, and personal development in today’s rapidly changing world.
According to her, children today are exposed to different emotional pressures from social media, peer influence, and society, hence emotional education is essential for their balanced development.
“So this programme is basically on self-awareness, empathy, self-control, confidence, kindness, communication skills, and responsible decision-making as essential tools for emotional balance and healthy relationships among students.
Oghene explained that beyond academic excellence, emotional intelligence must be intentionally taught to help students manage emotions, build relationships, and make wiser long-term life decisions.
She advised the children to prioritise emotional intelligence by practicing self-awareness, empathy, self-control, kindness, confidence, communication skills, and responsible decision-making for a balanced successful future always and daily.
Mrs Rupa Wajapey, a Facilitator, explained that simple breathing exercises help students pause, think clearly, and respond calmly instead of reacting impulsively during emotional pressure or conflict situations.
“We engaged the students by teaching them breathing techniques to help them manage stress, reduce anxiety, control anger, and improve concentration during challenging emotional situations,” Wajapey added.
In her remark, the Administrator of New Estate Baptist Secondary School, Mrs Uche Agbazue, commended the initiative, saying that it was timely, impactful, and highly beneficial in today’s world for students’ development.
“This programme is very significant, it has opened the minds of our students to emotional discipline, empathy, and positive behaviour. I really appreciate the Foundation for this laudable intervention.
“On our part, we will encourage the students to apply learned emotional intelligence skills here in the school, at home, and within their wider social environments for better outcomes.” Agbazue added.
NAN reports that the students engaged in interactive activities on self-confidence, communication, empathy, teamwork, friendship building, respect for others, and managing emotions positively in daily life situations.
The Foundation reaffirmed its commitment to empowering young people through mentorship, education, and community-driven programmes that promoted emotional resilience and responsible citizenship.
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